Conservative hegemony. After Morazán's defeat, Gen. Francisco Ferrera assumed the presidency and kept close contacts with conservatives of Guatemala and El Salvador. Allied with the clergy, he reinstated the tithes and colonial legislation. In 1845, he defeated liberal invaders.

Salvadorean José Santos Guardiola, with Guatemalan support, invaded Honduras and took power. William Walker attempted to invade Honduras in 1860. British returned the Bay Islands and part of Mosquitia to Honduras. Inhabitants of these areas obtained religious freedom, which led to a proclerical uprising (1861). Guardiola was assassinated in 1862.